The world’s No. 1 tennis player is facing controversies surrounding the issue of doping testing in the 2023 Davis Cup quarterfinals.
The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) confirmed that Novak Djokovic did not refuse to submit to random drug testing at Davis Cup 2023.
Doubts arose over whether the world No. 1 tennis player had fully completed the doping testing process after he stated that he had not yet completed a blood test when interviewing reporters after the match. quarterfinals against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
This caused backlash from fans that the test must be done before competing with Norrie.
“An hour and a half before the match, I got the notification. I always have the habit of concentrating as much as possible before entering the field and not bothering about taking blood or thinking about whether I can give a urine sample or not.”
He continued to describe it as “a completely illogical decision” . However, not everyone agrees with Nole’s stance. Former Olympic cyclist Marc Madiot has called for a ban. Djokovic match.
The owner of the Groupama FDJ racing team was frank with Les Grandes Gueules du Sport on RMC: “There are rules for testing before and after competition. If the anti-doping agency is doing its job, Novak Djokovic should be suspended. He refused to get tested before the match and only did it after the end.”
Currently, ITIA has spoken out to clarify the situation, through L”Equipe.
“The first thing we have to confirm is that Djokovic did not refuse the test. The rules state that when players are notified, they must provide a sample as soon as possible.
In team tournaments such as the Davis Cup, players may be informed before the match, while in other tournaments, testing often takes place after the match. Procedures cannot be changed for this event or for the players.
In Davis Cup, teams are notified before the match starts. This allows players to choose whether they want to do it before the match or not later. They have the right to choose. Some players like to do it in advance, it helps them save time after finishing a match.”
Djokovic hinted at this in his initial statements that he had spoken to anti-doping agency representatives. They explained to Nole why they wanted to check before the match because the match might end very late. However, the world No. 1 player made it clear that if he wins the second singles match, the match will end without the need for a doubles match.
“The interesting thing is that the anti-doping agency is a private company. There needs to be a discussion that we, as a world organization, should have our own organization that controls this issue. Simply, they don’t understand anything about sports, they don’t understand where they are.” , Djokovic confided.
